ST. ELMO – The Eagles switched defenses to pull away from the Cougars in a National Trail Conference matchup on Tuesday.

That defensive switch turned a 12-12 tie into a 22-14 halftime lead during a 45-31 St. Elmo victory.

“We had to go sit in a zone – and I’m stubborn that way – but if we had stayed in man-to-man, we probably never would have pulled away,” said Eagles coach Greg Feezel. “If we have to go to a zone, we will.”